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You Don’t Always Get a Snowy Christmas in Appalachia

Over the Christmas break, we found our way to two of our favorite shooting areas, the southern mountains of Appalachia and the rugged seacoast of New England. Over the course of our trip, we took several excursions to a variety of locations, some new to us and others old and familiar. We began our photo adventure by exploring Appalachia – specifically southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. As part of a family trip, we headed to Pigeon Forge for our first-erver trip to Dollywood. Though we didn’t bring in the big cameras, our faithful ol’ waterproof Sony provided a handy way to document this colorful piece of Christmas in Appalachia (above).

While in Virginia, we took to the back roads and forgotten paths of the region in search of new vignettes to photograph. While exploring this corner of Appalachia, we visited a grand waterfall, found some great farm scenes on a foggy afternoon, and stumbled upon this old slat barn (above), just as the sun was setting in the hollow. You never quite know what you’re going to find when you set out to explore – but you seldom return home empty handed. Such was the case with our last Appalachia excursion of the visit, as we summited White Top Mountain and did some hiking in search of the perfect shot. As you can see from the photos in the gallery below, the cloud lawyer was a few hundred feet below the summit, filling the valley like a picturesque quilt of fluffy cotton.

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Appalachia collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.A Country Christmas Part 1: The Holidays in Appalachia

Sampling Multnomah Falls, Crater Lake, Olympic National Park and all the Roads in Between

So, while I was preparing yesterday’s post, I realized that I had never published part two of our adventure to the Pacific Northwest way back in early October. So, without any further delay, here’s our photos from this great adventure. Over the course of a few days, we visited Multnomah Falls, spent a day on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, did a drive-by of Mount Rainier, and took a day trip along the volcanic range, stopping along the slopes of Mt. Hood, and finally spending the afternoon at Crater Lake. It was a busy couple of days, but well worth the 1,200 plus miles and 30+ hours on the road. There were all sorts of wonders to see – from the staggering heights and immersive (wet) experience at Multnomah falls, to the expansive grandeur of Crater Lake. Needless to day, the Pacific Northwest has many jewels in the tapestry of her landscape, and I;m thankful I was able to sample just a few!

As a note, if you plan to head up to Olympic National Park from Portland, you might not want to stop every 10 miles to take photos. After driving for about 8 hours on the very scenic Rt. 101, I found myself at the entrance to Olympic National Park shortly after they had closed. So, I missed out on seeing some of the beautiful scenes in the park, not to mention going another 100 miles to the Pacific, which I had hoped to do. But, with the daylight coming to an end, a long drive back to Portland ahead, and a busy day of shooting for our client on the following morning, it was time to hit the road. But, as a plus, as I was driving south, just after sunset, I was treated to an stunning view of Mount Rainier rising over the gentle rolling hills of Washington. It was pretty amazing. And then there was crater lake – a spectacular volcanic formation that is hard to wrap your mind around. Sitting perched above the lake, it seems only a mile or two across, but in reality it’s nearly six miles wide and has an average depth of over 1,000 feet! It was truly a site to behold!

All in all, it was an amazing trip – filled with the natural jewels of the Pacific Northwest – an hors d’oeuvre that left me longing for another trip to the land of fog and fire. As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Out West collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Exploring The Pacific Northwest: The National Parks

New Horizons and Some Spectacular Mornings in Portland

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of heading out to the Pacific Northwest for the first time – traveling to Portland, OR to shoot for two of our regular clients. It was a wonderful, albeit quick trip to the Left Coast. Today is our first of two posts from the trip – this time focusing on the city of Portland and a pair of rather stunning sunrises with a not too shabby sunset on the side. I arrived in Portland to the stereotypical rainy and overcast weather of the region, but by the following morning, the fog had begun to lift, and I set out in the pre-dawn light to find a few spots I had researched the night before. As it turned out, the tendrils of fog still clung to the hills west of the city, so I headed back down to my hotel in downtown Portland. But on my way down, the early morning sun slipped through the sliver of land and clouds to create a rather spectacular show along the riverfront that I couldn’t pass up. Below is one of my favorite shots.

Later on in our trip, after speaking to a few locals who suggested a trip to Pittock Mansion, I headed up to the turn-of-the-century estate for an evening shoot of the quintessential Portland skyline and Mt Hood, 50 miles to the east. The view was spectacular, and as you would expect, it drew a large contingent of shutterbugs, from couples with their phones, to professional photographers and even a chap shooting IR time-lapse video! You can see some of our evening shots in the gallery below. But perhaps my favorite Portland shots from the trip (like the one at the top of this post) were taken the following morning. There is this great site, SunCalc, that allows you to determine where and when the sun will rise and set each day – and its perfect for lining up shots. This time, we really lucked out, with the sun rising right over Mt Hood. Add to that the morning’s bands of cirrus clouds, and it made for an absolutely epic sunrise!

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Out West collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Summer Wanderings Part 6: Tennessee

A Wet and Wild Morning on Big Talbot Island

So… Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned. This morning, and old friend and I headed out to shoot some of the amazing driftwood on the northern coast of Big Talbot Island. This great little chunk of shore just a stone’s throw from Amelia Island, provides a great location for some unique scenic photography – something that’s a bit different than the uninterrupted golden sands that line the majority of Florida’s coast. Prior to leaving, I had checked both the weather forecast, as well as the aviation weather conditions (they provide more detail on current conditions than your typical weather app). Both looked promising, with no precipitation in the forecast until almost lunch time. So, cameras and tripods in hand – and a good hour and a half before sunrise – we set out along the shore, walking about a mile to this wild piece of Old Florida. The first hour or so of shooting went great – allowing us to experiment with long exposures and a variety of angles while trying our hardest to ignore the gnats. As night reluctantly gave way to day, we even spotted a water spout (below), as it hugged the Amelia Island coast ahead of a small patch of rain. The patch wouldn’t stay small…

Soon, the little clump of rain became a more defined line – with the weather sticking to our North, and working its way inland. In my infinite wisdom, despite the storm cutting off our exit, I thought it would be best to keep shooting and let the storm pass. That was, until it decided to pass overhead. Within a matter of only a few minutes, the skies opened up all around us – the storm having increased in size and intensity at a surprising rate. Thankfully, I always carry a trash bag in my camera bag for just such an occasion, so while I enjoyed a 45 minute tropical shower, my cameras stayed high and dry in my not-so-chic emergency rain solution. By the time we got back to the car, storms were popping left and right, including a massive shelf-clouded storm over Jacksonville, offering us some good photo ops as we made our way back to town.

And, as a bit of an extra – above is a video of the Monday commute for a troupe of snails. Just before the rain, I had noticed that many of the felled pieces of driftwood were covered in these lime-green colored snails. At first, I thought the snails were stationary, but as I started snapping some long exposures, I realized they were on the move (undoubtedly seeking cover for the impending deluge as I, too, should have been). But, throwing caution to the wind, I took this time lapse video of these fascinating little creatures for your enjoyment. The clip is about 20 seconds and represents about 10 minutes of movement.

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Florida collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Summer Wanderings Part 6: Tennessee

A Long Walk Through 100+ Years of Air Force History

Remember how we mentioned a visit to the National Museum of the United States Air Force back in our previous post? Well, with all the hundreds of aircraft on display at the Air Force Museum, we thought it would be appropriate to give the museum its own post. Way back in 1995 – when I still was still a high-schooler certain of my trajectory toward the Air Force Academy – we visited Dayton on our one and only great cross-country family vacation. In fact, I have three hours of home video narrated by a voice-cracking, mumbling, monotone yours truly as proof of our trip – that, and about 200 photos (and that was in the days of film no less!). So, when I discovered I’d be headed up to Ohio again for a shoot, I made plans for a nostalgic visit to the Air Force Museum.

While things here and there have changed (and expanded!), the waves of nostalgia still flooded over me as I rounded the corner to the parking lot. I hadn’t even entered the exhibit halls yet – and I was already reminded of our trip some 20 years ago. Once inside, the memories kept coming – and even a few surprises. When I entered the second hanger, filled with aircraft from the Korean and Vietnam wars, I had remembered that they had a B-52 on display (a massive plane that goes to show you just how gigantic the hangers are), but I was stunned to see that it was a dead ringer for the B-52 model I had assembled in high school – down to the placement of the camouflage patches! I had completely forgotten I had painted my model after this one!

One other unique bit of history, though a new addition to the Air Force Museum, was a collection of a half dozen presidential aircraft – including everything prior to the current 747. Best of all, you could tour four of the aircraft from nose to tail! It was a great experience!

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Aviation collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Summer Wanderings Part 6: Tennessee

Exploring the Ohio River Basin

It’s a good idea to be prepared for anything – like a delayed flight, or your car breaking down, or who knows what… That’s why we always plan a buffer day in our business travel – allowing us to get in and settled with a day before our shoot. It also affords us time to scout the area if needed, and then there’s the other reason we love to have an extra day – to explore and shoot fine art photography! Such was the case when we headed to Cincinnati with one of our clients a few weeks back. Thankfully, travel went great, and we had a whole day to explore Ohio. Here’s a sampling of our favorite fine art shots from the trip!

Over the years, we haven’t spent much time in Ohio. In fact, I think this was only my third time in the state – which, of course, is all the more reason to explore. And explore we did – setting out from Cincinnati, exploring rural Ohio as the sun rose, setting off to the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, and then heading down to Portsmouth, OH, along the banks of the Ohio River. From there, we chased the setting sun, traveling west along the shore, hopping back and forth between Ohio and Kentucky on our way back to Cincinnati. It was a wonderful day of exploring a part of the country I haven’t really experienced before. What surprised me the most? Probably the Ohio River itself. It was bigger than I expected, and with far fewer crossings than I would have thought. It was tricky enough to get from one side to the other today – I can only imagine the barrier it was to commerce and travel 100 years ago!

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Midwest and Rustbelt collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Summer Wanderings Part 6: Tennessee

Exploring the Underbelly of Eastern Tennessee

It’s official – we’ve finally buckled down to give you that final post from our summer adventures – featuring Tennessee! We didn’t spend a lot of time in Tennessee on this trip – in fact, we the only time we spent shooting in Tennessee was underneath it! Way back in 2009, we first visited Bristol Caverns, and we thought it was high time to make another visit. The cavern system was first discovered by the indigenous people of the region, and was used as both storage and refuge for the tribe’s raiding parties during the colonial period. Fast forward a few centuries, and the cave was equipped with concrete paths and steps – even a bridge – and opened to the public for regular tours.

On our visit, some 70 years after the first public tours began, we took the whole family along for our spelunking adventure. The caves, carved out of the Tennessee limestone, offer an easy way to explore the cavernous spaces and amazing formations, without having to squeeze through skinny spots or contort yourself into pretzel-like shapes to traverse the cave system. There are several sections open to the public via guided tour – with another section three times as large as the current area, being prepared for future tours. The cave even has a stream running through its lower depths, complete with sundry wildlife.

As always, please feel free to download as many photos as you like – we have sized the photos to 1080P HD wallpaper, perfect for your desktop, laptop, tablet or TV – and if you enjoy our photos, please share this blog with your friends and help us get the word out!

Interested in buying some of our fine art photography or just want to see some more of our work? Check out our Appalachia collection at our site: http://fineart.deremerstudios.comPlease note all photos on this site are the copyrighted property of Deremer Studios LLC unless otherwise noted. We share many of our photos for use as personal desktop wallpaper, but any other uses, including but not limited to printing, modifying, and any commercial use are strictly prohibited without prior written consent.Summer Wanderings Part 6: Tennessee